Abidjan welcomes 23 African countries for the 5th training of the OIE Focal Points for veterinary products

The Abidjan seminar, the 5th in the cycle of training rounds, follows that of Ezulwini (Swaziland) held from 6 to 8 December 2017 for English-speaking Focal Points from the African continent.

All 27 National Focal Points for Veterinary Products from French-speaking countries of the OIE Regional Commission for Africa were invited to the seminar, of which 23 countries attended. These are: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania , Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.

The seminar was facilitated by the staff of the OIE Science and New Technologies Department, the Regional Representation for Africa, designated experts of OIE Collaborating Centers : Dr Catherine Lambert (ANSES – Fougères, France) and Dr Assiongbon Teko Agbo (LACOMEV – Dakar, Senegal), as well as Dr. Charles E. Bebay (FAO), Philippe Sabot (Health for Animals), Prof. Oubri Bassa Gbati (Inter-State School of Veterinary Sciences and Medicine, Dakar), Dr. Oumar Diall (Pan-African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign, PATTEC) and Dr Jacques Devos (National Society of Veterinary Technical Groups, SNGTV). The seminar was conducted in French.

The objectives of the seminar were

1.  To inform participants about the OIE, its basic standards, its guidelines, the Terms of Reference for OIE Focal Points for Veterinary Products and the country activities on veterinary products.
2.  Give the participants the opportunity to discuss other topics of the seminar:

• Veterinary drugs and in particular good governance and OIE activities in support of good governance, OIE standards and relevant instructions for veterinary drugs.
• The registration / licensing of veterinary medicinal products and more specifically the general principles of VICH and activities of its Outreach Forum, registration and marketing authorisation systems and the possible harmonisation across regions of the African continent.
• The use of antimicrobial agents and antimicrobial resistance including the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, FAO’s work on plant health and the environment, the OIE strategy on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and prudent use of antimicrobial agents, the One Health approach to AMR in the Africa region, the global AMR database and the results of OIE’s efforts to collect quantitative data on antimicrobial agents used in animals.
• Antiparasitic drugs and challenges, especially the importance of antiparasitics, the lack of effective drugs for parasitic diseases in animal health and production, and resistance to parasiticides.
• The quality of veterinary products and the fight against counterfeits.

During the seminar the participants were divided into 2 working groups to discuss -in depth- the forms used for data collection, in order to improve the quality of the reports.

The whole seminar was held in a very good atmosphere with active and voluntary involvement of all participants. Following this training, an increase in the submission of the forms on antimicrobial data collection is expected in the Region.

Participants placed great emphasis on the prudent and responsible use of anti-parasitic products in Africa.

The proceedings of the 5th cycle Regional Seminar for OIE National Focal Points for Veterinary Products of Francophone Countries of Africa was covered by national television and print media of Côte d’Ivoire